fritter

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fritter

/ˈfɹɪtə(ɹ)/ UK
/ˈfɹɪtɚ/ US
[ˈfɹɪɾɚ] US

Rhymes with -ɪtə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

Inherited from Middle English fryture, from Middle French friture, from Old French friture, from Vulgar Latin *frīctūra, from Latin frīgō (“to fry”); compare fry.

For the development of Middle English /iu̯r(ə)/ into /ə(ɹ)/, compare armour, batter, border, solder.

noun fritters

Synonym of pancake, a portion of batter fried on a pan.
Similar: pancake
A dish made by coating various other foods in batter and frying or deep-frying them together, typically in small portions.
figuratively, uncommon A fragment; a shred; a small piece. And cut whole giants into fritters.

verb fritters · frittering · frittered

intransitive, often, with about To squander or waste time, money, or other resources; e.g. occupy oneself idly or without clear purpose, to tinker with an unimportant part of a project, to dally, sometimes as a form of procrastination. I was supposed to do work, but I frittered around all afternoon.
transitive To sinter.
transitive To cut (meat etc.) into small pieces for frying.
transitive To break into small pieces or fragments. Break all nerves, and fritter all their sense.

Translations

Every language

noun dish made by deep-frying

한국어	튀김 twigim
Français	beignet
Deutsch	Küchle, im Teigmantel, Bratling
Русский	по́нчик pónčik, ола́дья oládʹja, фри fri, пирожо́к pirožók

verb to cut meat into small pieces

Deutsch	kleinschneiden, zerteilen, würfeln, zerkleinern
Русский	нарезать narezatʹ

verb to waste time

Español	malgastar energías
Deutsch	prötteln, sich verzetteln, frickeln
Русский	дурью маяться durʹju majatʹsja

verb to break into small pieces

Deutsch	zerkleinern, zerbrechen, zerteilen
Русский	дробить drobitʹ

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MLA

"fritter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/fritter. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

fritter. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/fritter

Chicago

"fritter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/fritter.

BibTeX

@misc{fritter_2026,
  title = {fritter},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/fritter},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}